New Zealand Hunting Invasive Species

[Robert N]

Should Children Join the Killing in New Zealand’s War on Invasive Species?

A hunting contest has exposed tensions over which animals deserve protection, who gets to define humaneness and how children should be taught about conservation.

www.nytimes.com

All this is worth a read. Remember that NZ have no predators except for man.

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

Yeah, I’m going to have to side with the protesters on this one. The whole thing is wrong in that it encourages wanton waste. The introduced species have thrived beyond capacity. Now for the benefit of protein producers in the country under the auspices of protecting the native species, shooters are encouraged to slaughter deer and still buy beef? Couple of monkeys screwing a football right there, all wrong.

 

[NEWHunter]

It’s unfortunate how ignorant some people are . . .

 

[Rainer]

I know its controversial but I always thought you could use New Zealand as a host to save the Snow Leopard that is almost extinct. A natural predator of Tahr and something that has a slow breeding rate. You potentially solve 2 issues. You balance the Tahr, Chami etc. population and save a large cat species. Then reintroduce them back.

 

[Bigjay73]

We live in a world where chemically castrating a child is celebrated, taking them hunting is vilified. Smh

 

[Irrelevant]

I know its controversial but I always thought you could use New Zealand as a host to save the Snow Leopard that is almost extinct.

Except they're not.

Are Snow Leopards Endangered?

Conservation efforts have helped revive them in some regions, but snow leopards are at risk of becoming endangered. Learn how we can protect these elusive big cats.

www.discovermagazine.com

Tigers would be a better move.

 

[NR_Hunter]

We live in a world where chemically castrating a child is celebrated, taking them hunting is vilified. Smh

Maybe on the Internet but not in the real world.

 

[winmag]

It is entirely cost prohibitive to cull the vast numbers of feral goats or rabbits, for example, in NZ if you were going to attempt to save all the meat. So it’s either cull and let them lay or do nothing. Clearly they have decided that the habitat cannot sustain “do nothing” into perpetuity.

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

Let’s introduce snow leopards, tigers, arctic foxes, pythons and coyotes.

 

[KipCarson]

“In response, a few children held up animal carcasses in front of the protesters. One child started a chant of “Meat! Meat! Meat!” and it was quickly taken up by about two dozen others.”

Well they may not be winning over the masses with that tactic, but they’ve got my admiration! I know I’m always proud when my daughter gets excited about eating something I’ve killed. Very often during dinner I'm asked by her where and when I killed it. She knows where food comes from even at 4.

Even though I don’t see a problem it’s too bad the contest/fundraiser fuels the bigger overall PR problem that faces hunting everywhere.

 

[SC Living Outdoors]

They tried to introduce some big cats over there years ago and they didn't take. I asked that when I went down there. One of the guys I was hunting with has worked for the NZ government in their "game and fish agency" (they don't call it game and fish) for a long time. When it comes to hunting in NZ he knew it all. So I asked a lot of questions. No predators except for humans over there (and feral cats and dogs). Wonton waste isn't a thing in NZ every species is invasive except a kiwi bird and maybe a bat or something like that. Animals are regularly killed and no meat is taken (or maybe just the hams and backstraps maybe). It depends what the person is hunting for. Some people do take the meat but many don't or just the good cuts. It also depends how tough the pack out is. "Trophy Hunting" is incredibly common. Just taking the head or antlers and also shooting multiple females to manage the populations, its not even frowned upon. I realize that's not how we do it over here, but we aren't talking about over here, we are talking about over there and their populations are not struggling. They told me about areas where the tahr populations had decimated the local flora bc there aren't predators. There is also a ton of market hunting on private land (often from a helicopter) where they shoot many deer and take them for processing and selling.

Feral cats are a real problem over there and even more so in Australia. I was on top of a ridge in the mountains in the middle of absolutely no where and I found a house cat skull. I was thinking that maybe there was some native tiny wild cat over there, but when I asked they said, no, it was a feral house cat. In my experience Kiwi's hate possums. I shot some the first time I went down there, it was encouraged. My friend told me next time I come down he wants to take me wallaby hunting. He said they do a ton of damage and shooting is encouraged.

They have their way of doing things down there and for the most part it seems to be working just fine. From what I've seen and heard they don't give a darn about how we do it over here, lol.

This is just my 2 cents from multiple hunting trips down there and making friends who allow me to ask a lot of questions. Others may have had a different experience.

This is a NY times article so take it for what its worth.

 

[JohnDeereGreen]

An alternate title for this article could have been, "Hunting still controversial; urban / rural divide persists".

It's very different there. Long ago and far away now, I did a study abroad in college in NZ, and a lot of traveling / backpacking throughout both islands. At one point ended up staying with a farmer who raised elk for the antlers / velvet. Biggest elk you ever saw. I think it was exported to Asia for use it traditional medicines. Venison was for sale in pretty much all the grocery stores.

There is a wildlife sanctuary in Wellington. They built a fence to keep all the nonnative mammals out--down to mice, and then exterminated all the mammals inside that fenced area so that it would be only for native wildlife. The point being, there is such a proliferation of nonnative species that was the kind of drastic action it took to create a few hundred acres of 'clean' space for the native species there.

While I was traveling around, someone told me about helicopter trips where people would shoot goats from the air. Asked what they did with the meat and got a blank look. The point, I was told, was not to have goat meat for dinner but to have fewer goats out and about. Thought it all sounded a bit much, to knock over an animal that could be used for food and just leave it lie. Then I went on a multi day kayaking trip in the middle of the North Island and during the trip, heavy rains hit the area and the water came up several feet. There were so many feral goats in the surrounding hills that some got washed into the river and drowned. I wound up sharing the river with all these dead, bobbing goats around me. Would use the paddle to push the bigger ones out of the way. Changed my mind on the heli-hunting of goats after that.

Overall, I had the sense of a country trying to dial back the impacts from all these introduced species, but of being a bit overwhelmed by the scope of it, and willing to try some very different approaches to solving those puzzles.

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

I’ve not yet visited NZ and it is for sure on my bucket list. I do understand the “it’s not here, different there” argument in favor of wasting all that protein. On the other hand, quick goooglefu turned up NZ being the highest homelessness in the OECD (collection of 20 free world countries). And groups such as this which state 1:5 Ozzie kids go hungry: https://www.feedtheneed.co.nz/

Wanton waste applies when NZ taxpayers are supporting an infrastructure to feed the economically depressed and thousands of healthy animals are shot, left to rot.

 

[Touchdown88]

Even if this generation didn't introduce the animals causing the problems, they should be adult enough to solve the problem without taking feelings into account.

 

[winmag]

Similar argument for goats, wallaby’s, etc.

 

[Kiwi]

I showed my work colleague my pronghorn I shot in WY last week. The response was ‘are they a pest’. Pretty much highlights the difference between the New Zealand and North American wild life management.

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

I showed my work colleague my pronghorn I shot in WY last week. The response was ‘are they a pest’. Pretty much highlights the difference between the New Zealand and North American wild life management.

Right?! I’d be like Valentine Smith hunting in NZ.

 

[kiwi hunter]

I showed my work colleague my pronghorn I shot in WY last week. The response was ‘are they a pest’. Pretty much highlights the difference between the New Zealand and North American wild life management.

you work in the wrong place. lol